Investigação molecular de arbovírus de interesse em saúde pública em primatas não humanos no município de Foz do Iguaçu - Paraná

Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Silvia Cristina OsakiCoorientador: Prof. Dr. Walfrido Kühl SvobodaDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Palotina, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal. Defesa : Palotina, 19/08/2021Inclui referênciasResumo: Arbovirus sao virus transmitidos por artropodes e sao responsaveis por causar doencas emergentes e reemergentes de potencial zoonotico. As arboviroses destacadas neste estudo sao a Febre Amarela, Dengue e Chikungunya, doencas que constituem grandes problemas de saude publica no Brasil e no mundo. Acoes da vigilancia ativa como monitoramento, captura e avaliacao de primatas nao humanos assintomaticos auxiliam na deteccao precoce de circulacao viral e predicao de risco, de forma a compreender o papel destes animais como reservatorios destas arboviroses. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a infeccao aguda por YFV, DENV 1-4 e CHIKV em sangue total de 67 PNH cativos e de vida livre, divididos em quatro especies no municipio de Foz do Iguacu- Parana, Brasil, a saber: Alouatta caraya (n=7), Callithrix penicillata (n=5), Leontopithecus chrysomelas (n=3) e Sapajus nigritus (n=23) cativos do Zoologico Municipal Bosque Guarani e do Zoologico Roberto Ribas Lange e Sapajus nigritus (n=29) de vida livre na Area de Protecao Permanente da Usina Hidreletrica de Itaipu Binacional, no periodo de outubro de 2019 a marco de 2020. O diagnostico molecular foi determinado pela RT-qPCR. Todas as amostras foram negativas para a presenca do fragmento alvo do RNA genomico viral de YFV, DENV1-4 e CHIKV. Os resultados negativos sugerem ausencia de infeccao aguda nos animais analisados e, portanto, nao constituiram fonte de infeccao para os vetores artropodes no momento da amostragem.Abstract: Arboviruses are viruses transmitted by arthropods and are responsible for causing emerging and re-emerging diseases with zoonotic potential. The arboviruses highlighted in this study are Yellow Fever, Dengue and Chikungunya, diseases that constitute major public health problems in Brazil and worldwide. Active surveillance actions such as monitoring, capturing, and evaluating asymptomatic non-human primates help in the early detection of viral circulation and risk prediction, to understand the role of these animals as reservoirs of these arboviruses. The aim of this work was to investigate the acute infection by YFV, DENV 1-4 and CHIKV in whole blood from 67 free-living captive NHPs, divided into four species in the municipality of Foz do Iguacu-Parana, Brazil, namely: Alouatta caraya (n=7), Callithrix penicillata (n=5), Leontopithecus chrysomelas (n=3) and Sapajus nigritus (n=23) captives of the Municipal Bosque Guarani Zoo and the Roberto Ribas Lange Zoo and free living Sapajus nigritus (n=29) in the Permanent Protection Area of the Itaipu Binacional Hydroelectric Power Plant, from October 2019 to March 2020. Molecular diagnosis was determined by RTqPCR. All samples were negative for the presence of the YFV viral genomic RNA target fragment, DENV1-4 and CHIKV. Negative results suggest the absence of acute infection in the analyzed animals and, therefore, did not constitute a source of infection for the arthropod vectors at the time of sampling

Luxury shopping tourism : views from Chinese post-1990s female tourists

Peer reviewedPostprin

Maximizing Youth Leadership in Out-of-School Time Programs: Six Best Practices from Youth Driven Spaces

This paper aims to provide strategies for youth-serving organizations to maximize opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills within the out-of-school time program context. The sample includes 5 youth-serving agencies who participated in the Youth Driven Spaces initiative led by a Midwest program. Data for this project included observations of youth–adult meetings, field notes from youths’ reflections on key model activities, and interviews with adult staff to identify common challenges and supportive solutions. We identified 6 emergent themes for supporting youth leadership: (a) engage youth in meetings, (b) create opportunities for youth to learn how to be leaders, (c) recognize resistance to youth voice, (d) encourage youth and adults to share constructive feedback, (e) navigate youth–adult boundaries, and (f) practice intentional strategies to retain youth and to onboard new youth and staff. Results provide concrete strategies for practitioners and researchers to empower youth with the skills and resources they need to be effective leader

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) acoustic foraging behavior and applications for long term monitoring

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Castellote, M., Mooney, A., Andrews, R., Deruiter, S., Lee, W.-J., Ferguson, M., & Wade, P. Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) acoustic foraging behavior and applications for long term monitoring. Plos One, 16(11), (2021): e0260485, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260485.Cook Inlet, Alaska, is home to an endangered and declining population of 279 belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Recovery efforts highlight a paucity of basic ecological knowledge, impeding the correct assessment of threats and the development of recovery actions. In particular, information on diet and foraging habitat is very limited for this population. Passive acoustic monitoring has proven to be an efficient approach to monitor beluga distribution and seasonal occurrence. Identifying acoustic foraging behavior could help address the current gap in information on diet and foraging habitat. To address this conservation challenge, eight belugas from a comparative, healthy population in Bristol Bay, Alaska, were instrumented with a multi-sensor tag (DTAG), a satellite tag, and a stomach temperature transmitter in August 2014 and May 2016. DTAG deployments provided 129.6 hours of data including foraging and social behavioral states. A total of 68 echolocation click trains ending in terminal buzzes were identified during successful prey chasing and capture, as well as during social interactions. Of these, 37 click trains were successfully processed to measure inter-click intervals (ICI) and ICI trend in their buzzing section. Terminal buzzes with short ICI (minimum ICI <8.98 ms) and consistently decreasing ICI trend (ICI increment range <1.49 ms) were exclusively associated with feeding behavior. This dual metric was applied to acoustic data from one acoustic mooring within the Cook Inlet beluga critical habitat as an example of the application of detecting feeding in long-term passive acoustic monitoring data. This approach allowed description of the relationship between beluga presence, feeding occurrence, and the timing of spawning runs by different species of anadromous fish. Results reflected a clear preference for the Susitna River delta during eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon spawning run periods, with increased feeding occurrence at the peak of the Chinook and pink salmon runs.Project funding was provided by Georgia Aquarium, the Marine Mammal Laboratory of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (MML/AFSC). Tagging was funded by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology’s Ocean Acoustics Program. DTAG data analysis was funded by the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission grant #16-239. Funding for collecting and analyzing Cook Inlet beluga acoustic data in Susitna Delta was provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service Section 6 Office to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This publication is partially funded by the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES), University of Washington, under NOAA Cooperative Agreement NA15OAR4320063, Contribution No. 2021-1145

Surface passivation of carbon nanoparticles with branched macromolecules influences near infrared bioimaging

A superior and commercially exploitable 'green synthesis' of optically active carbon nanoparticle (OCN) is revealed in this work. The naked carbon particles (<20 nm) were derived from commercial food grade honey. The fluorescence properties of these particles were significantly enhanced by utilizing hyberbranched polymer for surface passivation. A dramatic increase in near infrared emission was achieved compared to a linear polymer (PEG) coated carbon nanoparticles. Interestingly, as passivating agent becomes more extensively branched (pseudo generation 2 to 4), the average radiant efficiency amplifies considerably as a direct result of the increasing surface area available for light passivation. The particles showed negligible loss of cell viability in presence of endothelial cells in vitro. Preliminary in vivo experiment showed high contrast enhancement in auxiliary lymphnode in a mouse model. The exceptionally rapid lymphatic transport of these particles suggests that such an approach may offer greater convenience and reduced procedural expense, as well as improved surgical advantage as the patient is positioned on the table for easier resection

Gastrointestinal Syndrome in a Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Background: The term “rabbit gastrointestinal syndrome” (RGIS) refers to a decrease in peristaltic movements, which in some cases can progress to absolute inactivity of the digestive apparatus. This condition is mostly secondary to others that promote changes in gastrointestinal motility, such as dehydration, fiber deficiency, excess carbohydrates in diets, stress, and acute or chronic painful processes. Clinical manifestations are mostly nonspecific. Thus, a case of RGIS resulting from environmental change in a domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is reported.Case: A 4-month-old male domestic rabbit weighing 0.962 kg was referred to a university veterinary hospital. The patient had a history of absence of defecation and anorexia for the past two days. The owner reported that the patient was apathetic but became aggressive when manipulated. The changes started after a move of residence. On physical evaluation, an increase in abdominal volume and a painful response to touch on the abdomen were observed. Complementary examinations were performed, such as a blood count and an ultrasound study. The blood tests showed no alterations, but the ultrasound evaluation showed the presence of free abdominal fluid, dilated intestinal loops due to fluid content, reduced gastrointestinal motility, and a hyperechoic structure associated with acoustic shading in the small intestine, all findings suggestive of obstruction. Given the failure of clinical management, the patient was referred for an exploratory laparotomy procedure followed by enterotomy. The obstruction point was located near the ileocecal junction. After surgery, analgesics, antibiotics, fluid therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, intestinal motility inducers, and probiotics were prescribed. One week after the surgical procedure, the patient showed improvement in the clinical condition, with normal appetite, defecation, and docility.Discussion: RGIS is diagnosed based on the clinical history, clinical manifestations, and complementary examinations. In the reported case, the patient presented apathy, anorexia, absence of defecation, and aggressiveness on manipulation, which were associated with abdominal pain. In cases of RGIS, hematological changes may or may not be present, which matches the findings in this report. Imaging exams provide important information, such as the patient’s condition and evolution. Ultrasound evaluation showed the presence of free abdominal fluid, dilated intestinal loops due to fluid content, reduced gastrointestinal motility, and a hyperechoic, immobile acoustic shading structure in the small intestine. Ultrasound findings were compatible with those found in cases of foreign-body obstructions, a common complication in RGIS. Initially, a clinical approach was taken, but in view of the unfavorable evolution of the case, with worsening motility and alterations in the imaging examination, a surgical approach was instituted. Intestinal obstructions in rabbits are usually found either in the proximal duodenum or near the ileocecal junction. In the presently reported patient, an obstruction was identified in the ileocecal junction region and the content found was composed of hair and dehydrated food. There are several conditions that can alter intestinal peristalsis in rabbits; in the present case, it was considered that the distress caused by moving to a new household led to a condition of RGIS. Despite the reserved prognosis associated with surgical interventions in the gastrointestinal system of rabbits, as described in the literature, in the present case this approach made it possible to preserve the patient’s life, which returned to its normal activities and behavior

Effect of metallicity on the gravitational-wave signal from the cosmological population of compact binary coalescences

Recent studies on stellar evolution have shown that the properties of compact objects strongly depend on the metallicity of the environment in which they were formed. Using some very simple assumptions on the metallicity of the stellar populations, we explore how this property affects the unresolved gravitational-wave background from extragalactic compact binaries. We obtained a suit of models using population synthesis code, estimated the gravitational-wave background they produce, and discuss its detectability with second- (advanced LIGO, advanced Virgo) and third- (Einstein Telescope) generation detectors. Our results show that the background is dominated by binary black holes for all considered models in the frequency range of terrestrial detectors, and that it could be detected in most cases by advanced LIGO/Virgo, and with Einstein Telescope with a very high signal-to-noise ratio. The observed peak in a gravitational wave spectrum depends on the metallicity of the stellar population.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted to A&

The complement system and human autoimmune diseases

Genetic deficiencies of early components of the classical complement activation pathway (especially C1q, r, s, and C4) are the strongest monogenic causal factors for the prototypic autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but their prevalence is extremely rare. In contrast, isotype genetic deficiency of C4A and acquired deficiency of C1q by autoantibodies are frequent among patients with SLE. Here we review the genetic basis of complement deficiencies in autoimmune disease, discuss the complex genetic diversity seen in complement C4 and its association with autoimmune disease, provide guidance as to when clinicians should suspect and test for complement deficiencies, and outline the current understanding of the mechanisms relating complement deficiencies to autoimmunity. We focus primarily on SLE, as the role of complement in SLE is well-established, but will also discuss other informative diseases such as inflammatory arthritis and myositis